Salinity-tolerant plants, known as halophytes,² might just be one of the solutions.¹ The halophytes span an enormous range of species, from leafy greens to grains to fruit, and many show great promise in terms of nutritional content and health benefits.³ Moreover, they might not be nearly as alien as they seem: quinoa³ and chard⁴ are two examples of commonly consumed halophytes!

To most of the world, areas such as salt marshes and coastal shores are inadequate for farming– and while these spaces cannot sustain most traditional crops, they’re perfect for halophyte growth.¹ As soil salinity continues to increase due to climate change, scientists are beginning to turn to halophytes as a “food of the future”: able to feed communities and revitalize unproductive land without depleting freshwater reserves.²

Lastly, food may not be the only potential use of halophytes. They also show promise as a source of bioenergy or biofuel, which opens up new economic opportunities for the communities cultivating them.³ The roots of certain halophytes can also stabilize shores prone to erosion in the face of rising sea levels.¹ One thing is certain: halophyte farming holds great promise for the future, and it’s something to keep an eye on.

If you decide to volunteer, you’ll be sorted into one of two groups: an intervention group and a non-intervention group. Participation in this study will include two short (10-15-minute) surveys. Those in the intervention group may also be invited to play City Safari, a 1-week photography-based game to encourage interactions with Hamilton’s urban nature, and may also be invited to share their thoughts in an optional interview.

All participants will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of ten $50 gift cards. Entry into the raffle is not contingent on completing all study components. Participation is entirely voluntary. Choosing not to participate will have no academic or institutional consequences.

If you are interested in participating or have any questions, please contact:

Joonsoo Sean Lyeo
[email protected]

You can also visit the study on Instagram!

Against your better judgment, you follow close behind it, and it leads you straight to a… a trap? Or perhaps it’s sweet nectar? Both, actually! In northern Mozambique, a mutualistic relationship between honeyguide birds and human honey-hunters has existed for up to 1.9 million years,⁵ with scientists believing that the ancestors of modern honeyguides were associated with early hominins.⁵ This rare case of human-animal mutualism is so unique that these birds have adapted regionally distinct "dialects" to match local human language diversity.⁶ The benefit of this intentional communication is, of course, a sweet treat, in which greater honeyguides guide honey hunters to wild bee nests. Humans smoke out the bees and collect the hives’ honey, leaving the energy-rich wax for the guide birds to eat.⁶ 

The disappearance of traditional honey hunters due to the growing use of industrialized methods severs this millennia-old mutualism.⁷ Changes in economics, land management, population growth, and other factors have left these birds to face heavily guarded beehives on their own.⁷ With this reduced food access, honeyguides must sharply lower their intake of beeswax or rely entirely on the inefficient method of scavenging, leading to cascading effects on the local food web.⁸ Furthermore, losing this mutualism can force humans into less accessible, more destructive harvesting methods, further disrupting the local habitats⁹–not to mention the loss of vital indigenous knowledge about the ecosystems within them.⁸ 

In our attempts to modernize our traditional practices, not only do we lose the beneficial byproducts of more sustainable methods, but we also lose one of the most whimsical, mythical experiences: being led through the woods by our personal woodland fairies, the honeyguide birds.

These pollinators face a number of anthropogenic threats, including habitat loss, pesticide exposure, and rising global temperatures.¹⁰ Moreover, a recently published article by Burraco et al.¹¹ suggests that all of these stressors may lead to another complication: accelerated aging.

Telomeres are repetitive sequences found at the ends of chromosomes.¹² In exchange for protecting the DNA from degradation, they shorten over time.¹² However, this process has its own consequences; telomeric shortening is linked to tissue degeneration, increased disease susceptibility, and many hallmarks of aging.¹³¹⁴ To determine how anthropogenic changes affect aging in honeybees, Burraco et al.¹¹ measured the telomere length of forager bees from 57 sites in central Argentina. Crucially, they found that telomere length correlated negatively with mean annual temperature¹¹. At higher temperatures, foragers lose more water and spend more energy on thermoregulation, leading to telomeric erosion¹¹. This suggests that global warming may cause honeybees to age more rapidly, leading to many adverse health effects.

Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. In the same study, urbanization and POP levels did not significantly correlate with telomere length¹¹. While this could suggest that these threats simply affect honeybees in a context-dependent way, it could also indicate a level of resilience on the part of the bees¹¹. 

Human aging has been a popular research topic for years. But that enthusiasm can be applied to conservation as well – and with the right tools, it might help protect one of the best pollinators we have.